Slow-braised, caramelized pork belly is a love language and nothing gets the family more excited than passing succulent Chinese Red Braised Pork, or Hong Shao Rou, around the dinner table! Turn any dinner into a special feast with these rich and glossy ruby gems on a throne of hot steamy rice!
Tender braised pork belly is a labor of love that fills your entire home with the warm smell of spices and savory sauce. Keep a coin jar in the kitchen for every time someone says, “Ooo whatcha cooking?? It smells SO good in here! ” or “is it time to eat yet??” because you’ll have enough money to retire 😛
This SUPER easy red braised pork recipe is the kinda dish that always has you wishing you made more! Enjoy this classic Chinese recipe for Christmas or Thanksgiving if you want a change up from Char Siu Pork. If you’re tight on time, you can still get mouthwatering results with my Instant Pot Pork Belly recipe! And if you have leftover pork (or just really love it hehe), use it up in Pork Fried Rice or Pork Lo Mein so no morsel of goodness goes to waste!
🍖 Pork Tips
For this succulent Chinese braised pork belly, grab thick skin-on pork belly with fat and lean meat throughout. We’re not dieting tonight okayyy, we want those fatty pieces!
As the pork braises, the fat tenderizes the lean pork into the most irresistible melt-in-yo-mouth tender pork that no one could get enough of!
🥘Ingredient Tips
- Pork Belly: For this Hong Shao Rou recipe, go for thick cuts with fatty strips throughout. As the fat renders in the braising liquid, the leaner parts of the meat becomes incredibly tender & melts in your mouth!
- Shaoxing Wine: This is a staple in Chinese cooking and is a cooking wine. It helps amplify the flavors in the dish and can be easily found at your local Asian market or Amazon.
- Regular Soy Sauce: Regular soy sauce adds salty umami flavor, is lighter in color, and thinner in consistency. It’s super common & you can easily find it at any local grocery store. Keep in mind that these types of soy sauces leaves only a hint of color on food, that’s why you absolutely need dark soy sauce!
- Dark Soy Sauce: Dark soy sauce has a slightly syrupy consistency, is a little sweeter than regular soy sauce but doesn’t have a strong flavor. Dark soy sauce is an absolute must for this Hong Shao Rou recipe for the iconic color it gives. Definitely make the effort to grab it at your local Asian markets or online.
- Brown Sugar: Rock sugar is traditionally used to caramelize the pork, but it’s not always easily accessible at local Asian markets. Don’t sweat it though because brown sugar is an easy alternative!
- Star Anise & Bay Leaves: Both aromatics add a warmth of flavor to the pork belly glaze! Star anise has a flavor similar to licorice and the bay leaves add a subtle earthiness.
- White Pepper: Just a bit of white pepper adds a kick of spice!
See recipe card for quantities.
🔪 Instructions
Step 1: Blanch Pork. Blanch the pork to remove the meat’s impurities & blood for a clear saucy glaze. To do this, place sliced pork in a medium pot covered in cold water. Heat on medium-high for about 3-5 minutes, or until it’s a rolling boil & the scum has risen to the surface.
See all the floating scum in the pot?? Yeahhh, we don’t want that in a beautifully glossy glaze later. Drain the pork & rinse off any additional scum under cold water. Pat dry then set aside.
Step 2: Caramelize Pork. Clean & dry the pot then reheat on medium-low. Add a little oil & the sugar to melt gradually without stirring. Keep a close eye so it doesn’t burn or harden.
Once sugar starts to melt, add pork belly and combine until well coated in the sugar.
Step 3: Braise Pork. Pour in the braising liquid, star anise, & bay leaves, then stir with a wooden spoon to scrape any bits of sugar at the bottom of the pot.
Partially cover with a lid, leaving a little gap to allow steam to release. Cook for about 1 hour, or until pork is fork tender. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking & add a splash of water if the sauce starts to look dry.
Step 4: Finish & Serve. If the pork is tender & cooked through but the sauce is too thin, increase the heat to medium & cook uncovered until it becomes a thick glossy glaze.
Serve your Chinese braised pork with hot steamy rice and/or fresh vegetables. Enjoy!
👩🏽🍳 Key Tips
- Keep the Fatty Pieces: We’re indulging tonight! We’re not skimping on the fat for this recipe. Make sure that every piece of lean meat has a bit of fat attached to it because it’ll help keep the pork tender and moist.
- Account for Shrinkage: I usually cut the into pork into about 2-inch thick pieces. Try not to cut them too small because the pork will shrink slightly as they cook. If they’re cut too big, they’ll take longer to finish cooking. No matter what though, make sure that the pieces are all cut to similar sizes so they finish cooking at the same time.
- Don’t Skip Blanching: I know it’s SO tempting to skip this step but I highly recommend taking the extra 5 minutes to do it because it makes a difference! If you blanching the pork, your finished pork belly won’t have a clear glossy glaze & will taste much gamier.
- Avoid Burnt or Crystalized Sugar: Keep a close eye on the sugar while it melts. It can feel like a while for it to melt but once it does, it dissolved quickly & can easily burn. Also, avoid stirring it because you could accidentally add water, which would crystalize the sugar. As soon as you see the sugar turning golden and dissolved, toss in the pork to caramelize.
- Low & Slow is Key: To get juicy tender morsels of pork that melt in your mouth, you have to cook the pork belly at a low temperature for a longer period of time. It may be tempting to crank the heat to cook faster, but trust me, your patience will pay off! Otherwise, you risk having tough dry pork belly… which is epic sadness.
💭 Recipe FAQs
🍚 What to Serve with Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou)
Hong Shao Rou is SUPER flavorful on its own, so easy simple sides like Egg Fried Rice or Vegetable Lo Mein work well to let the pork shine! Serve it with Bok Choy with Garlic Sauce or Chinese Green Bean Stir-Fry for quick veggies in 15 minutes or less!
Let’s get cooking!
Get into my secret stash of Goody-Packed Newsletters with meals planned for you & time-saving tips! Want step-by-step videos of how to make my recipes too? I gotchu over at my youtube channel. Aight, enough chatting, more eating!
Chinese Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou)
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 ½ pound lean pork belly*
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 star anise
- 3 bay leaves
BRAISING LIQUID:
- 1/3 cup Shaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce*
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 2 ½ cups water
Instructions
Blanch Pork Belly
- Cut pork belly into about 3-inch cubes. Make sure that every piece of lean meat is attached to some fat when cutting. This will help tenderize the meat while cooking.
- In a medium-sized pot, place pork in the pot with enough cold water to cover the meat. Heat on medium-high for about 5 minutes, or until it’s brought to a rolling boil & the impurities/scum have released from the meat. Drain, rinse pork under cold water to scrub any other impurities, then pat dry and set aside.
Braise Pork Belly
- Clean, dry, & reheat medium-sized pot on medium heat. Add brown sugar to slowly melt for 1-2 minutes. Keep an eye on the sugar so it doesn’t burn or begin to harden.
- Once it’s melted, add pork and coat well in the sugar until the meat is golden and caramelized.
- Add Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white pepper, water, star anise, and bay leaves. Gently scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure none of the sugar is stuck to the bottom to prevent burning.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and cover with a lid with a little gap to allow steam to release. Cook for about 1-1 ½ hour, or until pork is fork tender. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking & add a little water if the sauce is looking too dry.
- If there is a lot of sauce left, uncover the pot, increase the heat to medium-high heat. Cook for a few minutes or until the sauce has thickened into a glossy glaze, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Remove Serve them on a bed of steamy hot rice and/or vegetables. Enjoy!
Notes
- Pork Belly: Look for thick pieces of pork belly where every piece of lean meat has a piece of fat attached. This will keep the pork moist & tender while cooking. I typically buy my pork belly from the Asian market, but you can buy it at any local store if they have it available.
- Shaoxing Wine: This is a Chinese cooking rice wine that helps amplify the flavors of the ingredients & can be easily found at local Asian markets or Amazon.
- Regular Soy Sauce vs Dark Soy Sauce: Regular or light soy sauce adds saltiness to a dish and is the most commonly found type of soy sauce at grocery stores. Dark soy sauce has a slightly thicker consistency and is what gives the rich color for the pork belly. You can find dark soy sauce at local Asian markets or online.
- Key Tips & Step-By-Step Photos: For key tips on creating super tender pork belly with step-by-step directions, scroll up to the blog post above.
Nutrition
Exact calculations may vary. For the most accurate nutritional information, use your preferred nutrition calculator, actual ingredients, and quantities used for the recipe. Please consult with your physician or registered dietitian if more precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
